Andrew “King” Cole has skirted the edges of worldwide fame during this songwriting career but massive success has eluded him thus far. It is often the lot of behind the scenes creators. Cole isn’t a singer himself despite understanding the vocal art better than many performers do, J. Buck is the frontman for this single “The Mean Season”, and thus doesn’t get the chance to enjoy the spotlight in the customary way. The track, nonetheless, has a real chance to expose Cole’s name and talents in a larger way than he’s experienced before. It’s the first offering from a full-length release that introduces newcomers to the man in complete and memorable fashion.

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Buck’s vocals will be worth the price of purchase for many listeners. His voice is cut from a soulful stripe well within the traditional R&B spectrum, but there’s never any sense of Buck attempting to imitate other performers. He has his own style you hear in every line while still demonstrating an inherent fidelity to the genre that’s immediately recognizable. He holds listeners in the palm of his hand from the beginning and inspires confidence in listeners. Music fans stumbling across King Cole’s songwriting for the first time will find themselves in capable hands at every point in this song.

There’s a lot going on. “The Mean Season” has several instrumental highlights, but the two likely leaping out at you from the start will be the brass and bass punctuating the recording. The rhythm section commands your attention from its entrance through the song’s end and the electronic instrumentation present in the song provides effective background color. It isn’t a track that tries holding the listener’s attention too long and ends at the point when most listeners will likely feel fully satisfied by what it offers.

Cole works with visual artist Barry Gross on this and forthcoming singles. Gross’ imagery accompanying each song from the full-length release provides a unique counterpoint for the material and complement the songwriting without ever obscuring it. The production values underpinning “The Mean Season” is another critical reason for its success – it renders everything with pristine clarity that somehow avoids ever sounding mechanical. Cole and his artistic partners understand how to use modern musical technology in the best possible way.

It may be a reach for you to find a song title better describing the tenor of 2020 though the track doesn’t cover pandemics. It captures the spirit of the moment, however, while still being entertaining enough to please listeners long after we remove our masks for a final time. Andrew “King” Cole’s latest musical swing connects with a loud whack and “The Mean Season” is an artistic home run the Florida based songwriter will reap the benefits of for some time to come. It’s a totally modern musical piece that, nevertheless, makes use of time-tested elements common to all great songs. Many listeners will be clamoring to hear more by the time this track concludes and it isn’t difficult to hear why.

John McCall